Milgate PS Weekly Newsletter

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Milgate Primary School would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land of the Wurundjeri People and we would like to pay our respects to the elders both past and present. Staff, students and the school community understand that we thrive, learn and live on Wurundjeri Country and we stand with all cultures united as one.

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MONDAY 11 MARCH - NO SCHOOL

Labour Day Public Holiday | No School

A reminder that we have a long weekend coming up which means there will be no school or Team Kids for the day.

YEAR 1 SWIMMING 

This week the Year 1 students were very excited to participate in the swimming program at Aquarena! They developed their swimming skills and understanding regarding water safety and had a lot of fun in the process.  They did a fantastic job using their self-management skills in preparation for their time in the pool, and showed how they can be risk-takers and principled as they took to the water.  Great job Year 1’s! A BIG thank you to all the parent helpers who offered their time to assist at the pool, we greatly appreciated it.

 

Here are some photos of some of the fun we had this week!

YEAR 3 SCIENCE INCURSION

This week the Year 3 students participated in a ‘Mad About Science Incursion’ which focused on Natural Disasters and the science behind them. They explored how things like extreme weather, the Earth's rotation, and processes like the water cycle influence our environment. The Year 3s learnt about hail and snowstorms and understanding tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. The students also inquired into how scientists measure big geological events using a seismograph. We hope that this experience will provocate their thinking and empower them with knowledge to help manage and minimise the impact of disasters, both now and in the future.

WELCOME TO COUNTRY CEREMONY AND DIDGERIDOO (YIDAKI) PERFORMANCE

On Friday 8th of March, we were fortunate to have Uncle Colin Hunter Junior visit our school to conduct Welcome to Country ceremony and Ganga Giri conducted a yidaki performance. 

 

The school community enjoyed celebrating our diversity and cultures, and it was a great opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.  Thank you to the staff, students and families for coming and celebrating the start of the school year with us in this way.

 

FUNDRAISING THIS YEAR AT MILGATE

This year at Milgate any fundraising funds will be going towards beautifying our play areas in the school. We would like to improve our sensory and wellbeing gardens as well as create other small play spaces for students to enjoy at recess and lunch time. 

NAPLAN

Our Y3 and Y5 students will be participating in NAPLAN next week. The students have spent time engaging in the online NAPLAN example tests and practising working under ‘test conditions’. We like to reinforce with our students that NAPLAN is one test at a moment in time and that it does not define their academic ability, we encourage the students to give it their best go.

WELLBEING

The beginning of the school year focuses on building relationships, connections, routines, and classroom expectations. Students have participated in various learning experiences to build trust and create a safe place to learn.

 

We welcomed our 2024 Wellbeing Leaders - Violet H, Rina L, Katia P, Ivana K, Matai R, and Algren Y to their new role. Their enthusiasm, motivation and dedication to improving the wellbeing of all students at Milgate has been incredible.

 

After 5 years, we have updated the SWPBS Matrices. This began at the end of 2023 with students across the school providing feedback on the expectations. Staff analysed the feedback from students and added their own. Finally, the SWPBS Team looked at all of the suggestions and created the new matrix.

SENSORY ROOM

This year, we opened the sensory room, a room which is available for students who need to regulate their emotions or who are having trouble transitioning from home to school. Students are able to use the room when required as long as there is a staff member present.

PARENT INPUT | WELLBEING RESPONSE

On Friday March 22, parents are invited to provide input into the creation of our Wellbeing Tiered Response Model. This model will provide transparency, clarity and consistency across the school to embed an approach to support and manage student behaviour equitably. 

 

When creating the 2024 Annual Implementation Plan, a theory of action was devised. This is, ‘If we develop a tiered response to building and managing social engagement with others so that teachers and students have a collective understanding of the process then people will feel safe and overall wellbeing will increase.'

 

We would like to get input from all members of the school community and are inviting parents to provide feedback. The session will take place in the staffroom at 9am.

 

If you will be attending, please email claire.harvey-beavis@education.vic.gov.au

SAFETY IN THE STAFF CARPARK

This week we trialled putting cones along the two main crossings in this staff carpark to help guide families to use the designated crossings. This is to ensure we are keeping students safe and is an opportunity for parents to talk about cars in carparks and how we always need to be mindful of cars backing out of car spaces. We thank you for your support going forward with using the designated crossings. 

GAGA GAMES

This week we finished painting the gaga pit and added the sand. It is now ready for the students to enjoy and different year levels have been allocated different days to use the space. We would like to thank the parents who assisted with the painting on Tuesday and to the P&F for making it possible through the funds raised in 2023. 

 

ENOVIRONMENTAL TEAM 

Hello from the Environmental team! We have 6CW and 2CD as the winners for this week’s Trash free Tuesday with 5 pieces each!  They will receive our environmental mascot Ernie the earth for doing a great job at bringing the least amount of trash this week. Good luck to all classes for the upcoming week.

REMINDER

Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to school

The Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs.

 

A reminder that parents/carers of students

  • who do not have student accident insurance, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs; and
  • can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers.

The Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property. This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. As the Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property, students are discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.